AI Tech Firetinas Used to Detect Coronavirus in China

With the large volumes of infected reported
daily, coronavirus is becoming quite a handful for health officials to deal
with. Researchers at Manchester University and Cambridge University have developed
an AI system that may be used to perform a cursory examination of a large
number of people within an area. As the coronavirus presents with high body
temperatures as one of its telltale signs, the software uses a sensor to detect
the temperatures of up to 100 individuals within a thousand square feet.
Furthermore, the software reduced false positives by using facial recognition
technology to remove potential reading (such as cigarettes) that could skew
results towards giving a false positive reading.

Fast Computing

China’s problems with coronavirus, along
with the massive amount of its population that are currently at risk, makes
finding a solution that can be used on multiple people at the same time one of
their highest priorities. Firetinas runs an integrated circuit NPU that can
perform over 3 trillion calculations per second. Firetinas has also developed
an algorithm that helps it to optimize for faces covered by masks, allowing for
an incredible 99% accuracy in facial recognition and detection. The system also
uses a dual black-body temperature detection algorithm that will enable it to
resolve body temperatures to within 0.1 degrees Celsius. Integrating a camera
into the system and coupling it with a neural network, processor, dual
black-body temperature sensor, and the ability to separate imperfect
information from facts in a fraction of a second can be useful to detection and
management of the disease.

Modern Detection for a Modern World

The critical measure in detecting and
dealing with coronavirus is doing so within a small window of time. Because of
how easily the virus spreads between people, having systems in place that can
note the infected and inform authorities is an essential step in controlling
the spread of the disease. To date, several dozen countries have reported
outbreaks of the virus. It is hoped that as more countries realize what’s at
stake, they will start looking at options like Firetinas to deal with the
detection and control of the outbreak.